Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.
Today, I am speaking as co-chair of the Conseil québécois du théâtre. This non-profit organization brings together and represents Quebec's theatre practitioners and professional organizations to promote the development and influence of the art of theatre in all its diversity.
Over the past two years, we have been assisting our community through this historic crisis, in order to support as best we could a sector of activity that was extremely fragile already. We were ill-equipped to face the storm that hit us, and we are starting the recovery with exhausted and psychologically shaken troops, and a growing feeling of precariousness.
In recent days, the Quebec government of François Legault has announced that the reopening of theatres at full capacity will take place on February 28. Although we hope that this date marks the beginning of the end of the crisis, it seems inevitable that it will continue to plague us for many years to come. The challenges ahead of us are many, touching on many areas of artistic practice, and we very much hope that the dialogue established with the governmental authorities will continue.
Needless to say, the fifth wave was a real blow to the professionals in the sector, who thought they could finally start thinking about the future. This unfortunate situation only accentuated a feeling that had become permanent among the people in the sector, namely the fact that their profession was hanging by a thread. That is why I want to express to the members of this committee the need to see the recovery as a reconstruction. It is imperative that we use the lessons learned from the pandemic so that arts and culture can enjoy a balanced and prolific ecosystem. Given the complexity and richness of the theatre community, the collaboration and understanding of decision-makers will be necessary to bring about those major changes.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a significant amount of public support has been provided through agencies and institutions. While we applaud the federal emergency assistance programs for individuals, particularly the Canada emergency response benefit, we must highlight those for whom it will be extremely difficult to recover, namely artists, creators and craftspeople. These people, who form the basis of the creative chain, have had their shows cancelled many times, and have suffered from the lack of predictability; and those who make up the next generation sometimes have not even had the chance to enter the labour market. In this regard, I encourage the members of this committee to increase funding to the Canada Council for the Arts so that special attention is given to individual artists and emerging artists.
Moreover, if we wish to retain the rich expertise of our creators and professionals, we must be able to offer healthy and competitive working conditions. We also welcome the consultations on the reform of the employment insurance program that take into account the specific realities of self-employed cultural workers in the context of the modernization plan. This update is an example of an issue about which our sector's representatives and associations have been sounding the alarm for many years.
We are nevertheless relieved to note that, by accentuating the urgency of this systemic shortcoming, the pandemic has facilitated adjustments. In this sense, I hope that the members of this committee will continue to follow this issue closely, while ensuring that the changes will be applicable as quickly as possible and that these reforms will take into account the specificities of the cultural sector.
For the recovery, we hope that audiences will quickly get back into the habit of going to the theatre. Presenters' reopening plans will need to be supported. They know best how to reach their own audiences. After months of scarcity, risk-taking can be terrifying, and all presenters should be encouraged to dare to present all types of shows.
In addition, the repeated cancellations and the absence of programming for many months have created a funnel effect that leaves little hope for some producers, particularly those of the next generation. I must therefore stress to the members of this committee the importance of developing alternative modes of presentation while providing greater support to the teams that coordinate their feasibility.
In summary, we believe that we need to support individual artistic careers in a sustainable way by allowing support for artists through Canada Council programs and by recognizing their work status under the employment insurance program. We must also support the presentation of performances by allowing presenters to assume more risk than ever before—